Land once expected to become a scientific proving ground, targeting a cure for cancer, is now being transformed into a shooting range for South Florida gun enthusiasts.

A new public shooting park is under construction on former citrus groves near Palm Beach Gardens where the Palm Beach County once tried to build a biotech-industry boom town.

Work started this month on the first phase of the Palm Beach County Shooting Park, which includes pistol and rifle ranges expected to open to the public next year.

Yet a shooting park is a far cry from the high-tech vision county officials once had for Mecca Farms, which got swept into efforts to lure The Scripps Research Institute to Florida.

The county originally invested more than $100 million of taxpayers' money trying to turn the nearly 2,000-acre Mecca Farms property into an East Coast branch for California-based Scripps. Spinoff neighborhoods and high-tech businesses with new jobs were expected to follow.

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Some South Florida cities, along with others across the nation, have done away with old-fashioned, coin only “lollipop” meters for devices that are much more clever — 'smart meters'.

Some South Florida cities, along with others across the nation, have done away with old-fashioned, coin only “lollipop” meters for devices that are much more clever — 'smart meters'.

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Some South Florida cities, along with others across the nation, have done away with old-fashioned, coin only “lollipop” meters for devices that are much more clever — 'smart meters'.

Some South Florida cities, along with others across the nation, have done away with old-fashioned, coin only “lollipop” meters for devices that are much more clever — 'smart meters'.

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Captain David Smith, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for over 25 years, was arrested on suspicion of DUI after blowing a .196 and a .202 in a breathalyzer test and admitting to drinking six beers and taking a Xanax pill, stated the arrest report.

Captain David Smith, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for over 25 years, was arrested on suspicion of DUI after blowing a .196 and a .202 in a breathalyzer test and admitting to drinking six beers and taking a Xanax pill, stated the arrest report.

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A 3-year-old boy is in the hospital after being hit by gunfire in Mangonia Park.

A 3-year-old boy is in the hospital after being hit by gunfire in Mangonia Park.

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Deputy Adam Godbey is charged with child pornography after investigators found images and videos of child pornography at his home.

Deputy Adam Godbey is charged with child pornography after investigators found images and videos of child pornography at his home.

Now much of the Mecca Farms property is scheduled to become a reservoir, with a 150-acre portion set aside for the new state-run shooting range.

A 'good use' for the public

Shooting-park backers bill the gun range as a way to meet a growing recreational need.

There are limited public facilities available for the 900,000 Floridians that the state estimates participate in target shooting. In Palm Beach County alone, there are more than 70,000 concealed weapons permit holders.

Construction once slated to begin this year on the state's proposed Palm Beach County Shooting Park, west of Palm Beach Gardens, is instead getting...

Hunters, target shooters and other gun enthusiasts may have to wait until 2016 to start shooting at a new public gun range planned in Palm Beach County.

Construction once slated to begin this year on the state's proposed Palm Beach County Shooting Park, west of Palm Beach Gardens, is instead getting...

(Andy Reid)

"The shooting sports industry is important to Florida's economy and our wildlife conservation efforts, and we are glad to help provide a place for people to enjoy these recreational activities safely," Nick Wiley, executive director of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a statement released about the shooting park his agency is building.

After the failed, costly Scripps plans for Mecca Farms, county officials see the shooting park as part of the effort to finally put the property to public use.

Striking a deal with the state to "get us out of owning that property" was the best alternative, said County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay.

"The residents wanted (a shooting range). I think it's a good use," said McKinlay, who joined the commission after the county bought Mecca Farms.

Mecca Farms is on the east side of the state's J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area — 60,000 acres of cypress swamps and pine flatwoods that attract hikers, campers as well as hunters. The shooting park is being built along Seminole Pratt Whitney Road beside the entrance to Corbett.

Plans for the first phase, expected to open next year, include rifle and pistol ranges from 50 to 300 yards long. It would cost about $3.2 million.

Phase two would include a 12-station clays shooting range expected to cost about $3.1 million and open in 2018.

Future phases could include trap and skeet shooting, a clubhouse and other attractions, according to state plans.

In addition to providing the opportunity for recreational shooting, the state plans to use the shooting park for hunter safety training programs to complement activities at the Corbett.

Attendees of the Corbett's youth conservation camp could take firearms safety training there, according to state plans.

Olympic-style shooting competitions are also envisioned at the facility.

A past bid to lure scientists

Back in 2004, county officials were thinking of building a hub of scientific discovery, not a shooting range.

Scripps' scientists search for cures and treatments to everything from cancer to depression, looking for medical and technical advancements along the way. By landing Scripps, local officials were counting on pharmaceutical companies and other high-tech, high-paying industries flocking to the area.

The county in 2004 bought the agricultural land for $60 million, with plans to have enough room for Scripps' headquarters and research labs in an area with land available for businesses and new neighborhoods to follow.

Permitting, design work and other initial construction added another $40 million to the county's Mecca Farms costs. Taxpayers also footed the bill for a $51 million water pipeline to serve Mecca Farms and the expected spinoff development.

Environmental groups objected to the deal, saying building Scripps there would have opened the door to a huge influx of suburban development in rural areas — overwhelming two-lane roads, sapping wetlands and gobbling up remaining open spaces.

Mecca Farms' former citrus groves, surrounded by wetlands and farmland, was the wrong place to try to put a high-tech, biotech-centered development, said Lisa Interlandi of the Everglades Law Center.

She represented environmental groups in the legal fight that ultimately convinced the county to drop Mecca Farms building plans.

"That is an extremely remote, almost inaccessible, location," Interlandi said. "Scripps in that location would have been a huge failure."

After giving up on building at Mecca Farms, the county in 2013 sold the property to the South Florida Water Management District for $26 million.

The district plans to use Mecca Farms to build a $133 million water storage and treatment facility that would help replenish the Loxahatchee River.

Part of the deal also required providing land next to the Corbett wildlife area for the shooting range.

Interlandi said carving out room for the shooting range was an acceptable compromise to ensure that most of Mecca Farms could be used as a vital link in efforts to get more water flowing to the Loxahatchee River.

She called the county's failed foray into trying to build a home for Scripps on Mecca Farms a "total waste" of taxpayers' money.

"The best use of that property is wetland restoration," Interlandi said. "It all played out for the best, no thanks to the decision makers at the time."